Outgoing Escondido mayor joins council race

ESCONDIDO  Outgoing Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler, a big supporter of a proposal to bring a minor league ballpark to the city, has filed papers to run for City Council.

An ownership group led by Padres CEO Jeff Moorad is close to signing a deal that calls for the team to move its affiliated Class AAA franchise to a 9,000-seat ballpark in Escondido. The facility would be built by the city for $45 million.

Pfeiler has called the proposal for the ballpark “exciting” and “doable.”

She decided last year not to run again for mayor, after serving 12 years, but pulled papers early Wednesday afternoon and returned them later that day, the last day to file, City Clerk Marsha Whalen said. Six other candidates have joined the race.

“Escondido’s in a unique place right now and I’d like to take advantage of being a part of that,” Pfeiler, 53, said late Wednesday afternoon.

She said the decision to run for City Council came up in the past few weeks when she realized the city has many big projects in various stages of proposal and planning, such as the new hospital, a downtown hotel and the ballpark.

“The idea of trying to expand our employment base is critical,” she said.

Pfeiler described the city as transportation rich, an advantage to establishing employment opportunities.

She is supporting Councilman Dick Daniels, also a proponent of the ballpark, in his run for mayor. Councilman Sam Abed and businessmen Joe Bologna and Tom D’Agosta are also candidates for mayor.

Councilwoman Marie Waldron, who is running for re-election, said she was surprised by the news, but that Pfeiler joining the race won’t make it adversarial.

“We want to maintain a pro-business majority,” Waldron said.

Pfeiler’s action also came as a surprise to candidate Ed Gallo, a commercial real estate agent.